and before you say it, I know that OBDII cars don't take mods well without tuning. They don't learn. I'd like to see some constructive answers here, if you don't mind...we are trying to help a newcomer.

 

They sell it to take all of your disposable income!

Seriously, any ot the "bolt on" items are of little value. Maybe some, but not enough to get excited about.

Seriously, ignore most vendor/product claims, do you research (NOT here, nor vendor sites!) and decide what's right and works for you.

If you find some earth-shattering discovery, please share it, then back it up somehow!

 

JoeR is speaking the truth.

I make a living selling just anything from HHR parts to parts for a Top Fueler. I deal with many pro racers and car tuners around the world. I have delt with every one from Gibbs, Earnhardt, Unser, Garlits to Joe the drive way mechanic. I have seen it all. and seen a lot of people pay a lot of money thinking they are going to do a lot with just a computer chip and intake only to have them be upset that it did not do as they expected.

The truth is the bolt on's add little. Yes they do add some small gains but not the kind of gains many expect.

The other truth is they do not all add up. If the cold air intake is worth 15 HP and the exhaust is worth 20 HP they do not add up to 35 HP.

HP takes money, knowledge and work. Too many people have gotten used to the bolt on world and the easy way out settling for the small gains.

Things like KNN cold air intakes are good for a small gain in HP and some cased MPG in most vehicles but don't expect to remove a second from 0-60.

As for Super Chargers and Turbo's. Superchargers are a expensive bolt on and will work well with some cars that they are designed for. Be aware some kits are better than others and most are for Mustang, Camaro and Vettes.

Turbo kits are limited in availability and you really need to know what you are doing. The dealer also may never want to work on your car again so you will need to fix it.

Also keep in mind some things will also shorten the life of trannys etc. If you play sometimes you need to be prepared to break things and pay. It is now your responsibility to fix things.

Then you have the Electric Superchargers and Tornado's that do nothing. IF they really worked they would be on every new car to gain power and MPG.

KNN intakes are not OE as they will not pass WOT noise regs from the goverment. That is why dealers sell them as over the counter.

NOS is the easiest and cheapest bolt on but again know what you are doing as lean it out and you will burn a piston.

If you are not able to pull an engine and want a lot more power buy a SS. If you can get by on less than 20 HP more do an exhaust or ans intake then remove the interior for less weight.

There are no magic parts that will give you big gains for little money or knowledge on a 2.2 or 2.4. So if you can tear an engine down and change cam's etc have at it. If you can't buy an SS as it would be much cheaper for you and give you the most reliable car to drive.

I wish there was magic bolt on part for big gains as I would sell a ton of them and make a lot of money.

 

Am I missing something? I don't understand why someone would buy the lowest performing variant of a vehicle and then bolt-on aftermarket performance hardware. The LS is a basic people and payload mover at the lowest cost. The SS is the all-out performance variant. The LT is for people who want some luxury but are not demanding maximum performance, or are just not willing to spend the significantly higher price of the SS for the incremental improvement beyond the LT (both reasons why I bought a 2LT). For increased performance with even a 1LT, the 2.4 is optional, but with the 2LT you also get the firmer suspension. Straight-line performance isn't everything, even if high-testosterone US drivers seem to think it is.

My recommendation is to keep your 1LT at stock if you need to save money. Aftermarket modifications don't make sense when widely-available factory versions of this car perform better than yours ever could with add-ons. If you have money to spend, substitute an HHR that starts with higher performance before you even consider changing it. Remember that about 95% of HHRs, and 98% of LTs, are purchased with an automatic transmission when the manual has more power and better fuel economy.

As you can see below, I am doing multiple appearance and handling modifications on my 2LT, but not a single performance one. There was fertile ground for cost-effective ways to make my car look and handle better, so I did. Another reason for no performance mods is that I don't want the vehicle to get louder or vibrate more. I'm a doctor and could easily afford an SS if I felt I needed one. My daily driver is a Honda S2000, and if I want high performance (and loud noise) all I have to do is get in my other car. My goal here was to buy a practical, used vehicle to carry stuff, and to have some luxury. I trolled autotrader.com to find any late-model vehicle with heated leather seats for under $10,000 with a manual transmission. I set a goal and parameters on how to get there. You seem to have purchased a car with certain characteristics, when you really should have gotten something else.

 

Well said Doc..

 

Flowmaster cat back gave me the sound I wanted and helped my mpg's by 2. Sounds great and I like it isn't that the purpose of all of it how the owner feels? Since its mine I did what I wanted and love it, Just my two cents

 

Doc not everyone can afford the SS as it is a big jump in price. So many buy the cheaper car with the expectations it would be easy to add a lot of power with all the parts you can get. An easy task to afford if you only pay $12K for a LS or Used LT and do it a part at a time.

Then the reality hits and many find the parts available do not add as much power as they would like and often misunderstand to add the power they often seek is not as easy nor cheap to get.

As long as someone is ok with small gains this is fine to do. I just deal with many who get disapointed to find that often the small engines are neither easy nor cheap to modify.

Good eample is the Fiero group I am in. The 2.8 V6 was good back in the day but tosay is less than an entry level Cobalt in performance. To make the car more powerful you can use bolt ons that will give you a couple HP here or there that add a little or you can bolt in a LT1 Small block, Cadillac Northstar or 3800 SC for a couple thousand dollars and make it a reall killer. To get the same power out of a 2.8 would cost even more.

The issue here is to change engines is not something everyone can do and then if you have problems no one will work on it so you need to fix it yourself.

The bottom line is expectations need to be in line with the wallet. Power is money and some tend to not understand that with some of the claim some parts make.

FYI if anyone changes an exhaust and you plan on keeping your HHR go stainless only. THe stock aluminized exhaust is no where as good for lasting as the stock stainless and you will have to replace it in 5 years in many parts of the country even if you don't drive it they rust.

I have the fastory stainless on the Fiero and it is now 25 years old and as good as new. Now if you don't plan on keeping the car 5 years or more I would not worry about it.

In the past to be a hot rodder you almost had to make all your own parts. That is how companies like Edlelbrock and other got started. Today they try to give you bolt on part to make it so you do not have to be a big time tech to add performance. The issue is it still take some knowledge and money to make these changes and understand while it is easier to make some gains larger ones are still expensive.

 

This is where I sit. I had just forked out 6k to get my roof fixed, the next week the a wrist pin goes in my minivan's motor. I couldn't afford the get the van fixed after just getting the roof fixed, so we decided it was time to buy a new car. Limiting ourselves to 20k total really cut down our options for what we decided we could afford. I didn't even know they made an SS until I got on this forum. I knew they had the LT only because the sales guy told em the LTs had chrome mirror covers. The LS we bought fit perfectly with what we were looking for. I know it isn't anything special, but its special to me. Its nostalgic, and something I can specialize to my taste with all the after market dress up stuff and performance stuff they have out there.

I have been playing with cars long enough to know that I am not going to be able to get the horsepower that the SS has out of this little 2.2 with some bolt on aftermarket parts that I buy as I can afford them. I still have kids getting ready to go into college, so my funds are limited. This was something I had to take into consideration when buying the car. Sure I would have liked to have an SS, but I decided I couldn't afford it, not the bank, not the dealer. The point is I can buy some after market parts, get a few extra horses(not expecting any more than 15, 20 tops for CAI/CatBack/Trifecta Tune total), make it look a little sharper, and be a little prouder, while not having to run anything higher than 87 octane, and still keeping my daily driver gas mileage.

Now if you 2LT and SS boys are done bashing someone for buying an LS in the 2.2L Performance Tech portion of this wonderful forum we can see if we can answer this persons question to best of our ability.

I was in drag racing for a long time, specialized in Ford Big Blocks(385 family), talk about a motor is that is expensive to build LOL I have gasket matched, ported and polished, decked, bored and blue printed to withing .0003"(yes that is 4 decimal places), the only thing I never did was stroke a motor. Even back then you would hand modify "bolt" stuff that the companies were making for us. I have read of a few guys on this forum that have built their own CAI, I give them kudos for being mechanically inclined enough to make their own, have the time to do it, and save themselves some money also. I dont have the time as much anymore as I used to when I was younger. That is my biggest problem, that and this is my daily driver so i cant let it sit for a week while it is inop because I am tinkering with it.

The course I plan to take on mine is CAI, Catback, and a TrifectaTune(hadnt heard of it? do a search )

 

Perhaps many do not agree with me ...
I believe that the increased engine power HHR is not advisable.
I have the HHR 2,4 L LT. I see that the car can not realize the full potential of its engine. The high center of gravity, archaic suspension, poor distribution of mass between the axles - this prevents the active driving. But therein lies the charm of the car.
HHR - a car for a relaxed, unhurried movement. With dignity. The driver HHR, as the rider chopper, looking down on the scurrying sportbayks. But in case of need can jump ahead to the dynamics of a fighter. Wiggle on the road - for teenagers.

 

If you want some good reading and expesive ideas follow this link

http://www.gmtunersource.com/index.p...tec-build-book

Is 1500HP too much?